Alex Heller is a writer/director working between Los Angeles, Chicago, and Norway. Her debut feature film, THE YEAR BETWEEN, an autobiographical comedy about bipolar disorder that stars J. Smith-Cameron and Steve Buscemi, premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. It then sold to Peacock and received praise from The New York Times, Variety, Roger Ebert, and NPR. Heller’s recent short film DEBATERS (starring J. Smith-Cameron and Kenneth Lonergan) premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, was selected for the Sundance Short Film Tour, and is a proof-of-concept for an upcoming feature film of the same title.

Yvonne Ashley Kouadjo is an Emmy-winning producer and curator for Op-Docs, The New York Times’s esteemed platform for short documentaries. Since 2011, Op-Docs films have sparked global conversations, influenced national policies, and garnered an array of industry distinctions.

Yvonne Ashley collaborates with independent filmmakers globally, developing and championing films that include INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART (2025 Oscar® Nominee) and ISLAND IN BETWEEN (2024 Oscar® Nominee). She frequently participates in film festivals and markets, serving on various panels, forums, and juries, and leading seminars.

Claudia Puig is a nationally recognized film critic, entertainment journalist, and film festival curator. She has been Director of Programming for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival since 2021 and is also Program Director for the Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival. She previously served as Senior Programmer for the AFI Film Festival and has led programming for the Mendocino, Napa Valley, and FilmFest 919 festivals.

Puig was President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association from 2016–2023, and a speechwriter and consultant for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She spent 15 years as lead movie critic at USA Today and 11 years at the Los Angeles Times, contributing to Pulitzer Prize–winning coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles uprising.

A frequent moderator and commentator, she spent 20 years as a film critic on National Public Radio’s “Film Week.” She is fluent in Spanish and holds degrees from UCLA and USC.

Abe Bengio is an Agent at WME Independent, the packaging and sales division of William Morris Endeavor. During his time at WME, Abe has packaged and sold award-winning directors’ films including Beth de Araujo’s JOSEPHINE (Sundance 2026 Winner; in Competition at the Berlin International Film Festival), Ruben .stlund’s TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (Palme d’Or Winner; nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture), Alex Russell’s LURKER (Sundance 2025; Independent Spirit Awards), Saim Sadiq’s JOYLAND (Cannes Jury Prize Winner; Academy Award shortlisted for Best International Feature), and Ira Sachs’ PASSAGES (Sundance 2023; acquired by MUBI). Prior to WME, Abe was a Manager of Film Sales at Fifth Season (f.k.a. Endeavor Content). With a focus on international talent, writers, and directors, he also represents production companies, financiers, and entertainment venture funds in North America and abroad. Abe hails from Montreal and received a BFA in Creative Producing from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Beau is a Curator for Vimeo Staff Picks. He previously served as an Associate Shorts Programmer for SXSW and has screened at AFI Fest, Heartland International Film Festival, Indy Shorts, and Santa Fe Independent Film Festival. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and daughters.

Jo Light has spent over a decade at the intersection of Hollywood and the written word. She worked for five years as a professional script analyst at Relativity Media and ICM Partners before turning that expertise toward her own screenwriting, landing a horror feature in an Austin Film Festival live table read and winning first place in Midwest WeirdFest’s inaugural feature screenplay competition. She holds a Master’s of Professional Writing from the University of Oklahoma and has taught writing at the college level. Since 2018, she’s been a staff writer at No Film School and also contributes to the Final Draft blog.

Oscar.-nominated duo Julia Aks & Steve Pinder’s humor has often been described as “easy” and “I don’t get it, it’s just CASABLANCA with farts.” The pair met in 2016 when Steve was a film student at USC, directing a SOUND OF MUSIC parody about climate change, with zombies. He needed an actor who could pull off a kick-ass Julie Andrews impersonation, and Ms. Aks waltzed into his life. In 2019, Julia reached out to Steve with a wild idea: co-direct a Julie Andrews shot-for-shot remake of Ariana Grande’s hit 7 RINGS music video. The parody went viral, and the two began a string of collaborations for Julia’s YouTube channel, including the sketches REST IN BEAUTY, YOU ARE MY ROCK (MY DWAYNE, MY JOHNSON), and the aforementioned GASABLANCA. In 2024, the pair took the leap from sketch to cinema, making their first narrative short film: a satire about menstruation called JANE AUSTEN’S PERIOD DRAMA. The film enjoyed a wildly successful film festival run, won the Jury Award for Comedy at Aspen Shortsfest, and is nominated for an Academy Award.. Julia and Steve live in LA, where they are developing a feature film version of JANE AUSTEN’S PERIOD DRAMA and other irreverent comedies with heart.